Blessings of a Butterfly: 2010

Mommy and Daughter

I asked Eric the other day if he has ever felt like there was something different between the connection he has with Renn than Avery? The answer is "yes" for me. Not is a bad way... it just is. When I found out I was pregnant I KNEW she was a girl and that made me nervous. I felt like I had the boy thing down. Could I really raise a girl? Was I going to be good enough at the fashion side of it? Was it just going to be too much hoopla that I feel like comes with girls? Of course, you figure it out and you set your own path as a parent but they were all fears/concerns. Once she arrived. I felt the weight of her being female and knowing in my heart what comes, how life goes, the up and downs, the emotions and needs. It's a lot and I pray A LOT for her little life. May she be confident, bold, brave, healthy, fearless, creative, a lover of Christ and allow Him to love her back as she is. May she know where her worth and value comes from. May she be adventurous, truth telling, loving, kind, have a heart that feels and is moved by others. May she trust me when the going gets tough and know that without a doubt I will understand, support, push, and affirm. I love her. It hurts the back of my throat with the tears I hold back when I think about loving her.

Little Avery, know that I love you with a love that I never knew could exist and I look forward to knowing you and living life along side you.

Baby's First Christmas

I am thankful to have it be Avery's 1st Christmas! Simply because it means we get closer and closer to her 2nd and 3rd Christmas which she will enjoy that much more. She had the most fun actually playing with her brother's toy (I am guessing this will be the story of her life) then the few things she got. She had her first Cranberry bread (a family tradition) and while she liked the tree and the lights she was not attracted to pulling on it by any means. This gives me hope that in the next couple of years we can put ornaments back on our main tree. She slept through Christmas lunch which gets a "woot! woot!" from me. As for gifts from us she got her cute red piano and a pink walker toy. I really think it is the only pink toy in the house. She got her first pair of pearl earrings from Papa T's recent visit to Japan. And probably the most practical and will be the most used gift was a new security blankee so I am not having to cart the one we had back and forth from school to home everyday. One of the more exciting things for her during the day was the accomplishment of her first steps. We knew it was coming and sure enough they arrived with Santa. My parents got to watch and I am always thankful to witness the 1st instead of them happening at school. It is amazing to think last Christmas I was preggers with her and now here she is. Living, growing and learning. What a tremendous gift she is.

thumb sucker

She sucks her thumb. I knew she would from the moment she arrived. You hand the child her blanket and in goes the thumb. Honestly, if she even touches anything soft including if you are wearing a soft sweater in goes the thumb. It fascinates me. I was not a thumb sucker, paci user or had any sort of attachment to a blanket. So I am intrigued. Will she just one day give it up? Will it always provide her comfort? Will I have to paint her nails with yucky tasting stuff to break her of the habit? I try not to "worry" about it right now and just thankful that she has a means of self soothing. When I hand her the blanket, her thumb goes in and she lays back in my arms I get to hold on just a bit longer to the baby still in her and that I enjoy.

Christmas Photo Shoot

First Christmas equals first Christmas card photo shoot with the fantabulous Carrie Fay!

Some of my favorites of her.

How fast it goes.

Avery, Avery, Avery.
Almost nine months old. Where does time go?
I awoke to her coughing (tis the season) early this morning and I decided to help her with a bit of rocking (bad idea - she thought it was time to play). As we rocked I realized how long she has gotten. She is longer than the space between the two rocking chair arms and it amazed me how fast it has all gone.
While most people would describe her as sweet and reserved. I would describe her as hilarious, adventurous and full of giggles.
She does the funniest nose snorts on command, loves adventuring around the house with her crawling skills and laughs A LOT mostly at anyone who plays peek-a-boo with her. But, she will laugh at her big brother for any reason. She loves him.
Crawling was a slow start but she has really taken off now. She seems to be able to discover the smallest piece of paper or thread that she shouldn't have. She is better than any broom. She loves getting to the stand up point and is letting go and standing on her own for several seconds.
She does the funniest little shoulder shutter. We aren't quite sure if she does it when she like something or doesn't like something.
She is a fabulous little eater and is more than ready to shift to more substantial finger foods. It is the Mama that is not ready.
Is that the case for the rest of their life? Kids are ready before parents are ready?
She loves music, clapping, balls and trying to do anything her brother can do.
She has four teeth - the top ones came in over the weekend. She is the best teether I have ever seen. No drool, no fever, no whining. You would never know she was getting them till they are here.
As much as I look forward to her talking, running and dancing I realize you never get THIS back. I simply want to cherish it.

Halloween 2010

To match her brother Avery "agreed" to be Minnie. She was actually a trooper and had nothing negative to say about her tulle tutu. Total girly girl already.

Dedication

Her dedication was such a special day. My parents flew in from Texas to celebrate. My mom had bought her this beautiful gown with butterfly details. She wore gold bracelets that were mine and my moms. She was an angel on stage as we stood in front our our community promising to raise her in the church and knowing Christ. It is such a powerful moment as parents to mark it with a celebration. Now...the dinner afterwards was a train wreck. Two tired kids that were off their schedule made for misery. So I left the dinner with the kids and headed home. They both fell asleep on the drive and I was tempted to drive myself to a drive in movie theater. But, alas I was the good mommy and went home tucking my sweet kids into bed and saying a prayer over them. Thanking God for their lives and asking His Spirit to fill them, guide them and move them to be the people He desires. Quite a day.

Celebration Galore.

It is my birthday and guess what she did? Crawled! How fun to mark the day. She got her first tooth on September 16th and was a trooper about it. Didn't even know it was coming. She claps on any mention of the word "yea" and loves to groove to the music. I feel it going fast...so fast.

a trip

to the hospital.

Avery had to go to Phoenix Children's hospital last week for some tests. Nothing overly serious but it was still a nerve racking experience.

After it was over Mr. Bailey asked me how I was doing.

My response was "exhausted".

I had been praying all the way there for little A but the second we hit foot on the campus my prayers shifted. Every turn you made, every glance at another family you took you realized that there were people there that do this everyday of their life. That there were kids there with a true sense of pain and sadness. It was overwhelming!

I have visited this particular hospital plenty to pray for kids and families in our ministry but I was not a parent then. I feel like now I have a whole new understanding of how much you as a parent physically hurt for your children.

My heart simply felt as if it ached for the hours we were there. Our results came back normal. We are thankful!

But, a better understanding and sympathy will be extended to families that must make that hospital their home. My prayers for strength go out to you.

A few pictures from our day.

too cute in her gown!

the vest was my protection suit.
they asked if I could be pregers.
I laughed!!!!

LAST day to enter the giveaway for hair candy from Peaches & Brown Sugar Designs.

Don't miss out.

Avery's Room

I love it!

I have hesitated to post about it because I have been unable to capture the color of it perfectly due to lighting. But, you can trust me that it is the exact dusty rose color I desired.

I knew I was going shabby chic all the way for her room!

photo by carrie fay photography

This bench, found in a thrift shop, was the piece that the entire room ended up being designed around.Because the bench had very distinct colors going on and her room was already painted in a bold color (Revival Rose by Dunn Edwards) I knew I needed to go neutral with the rest of the room. Two trips to an antique shop, a couple of purchases on Etsy and a handful of online purchases and this is what I got.

Her bedding is white eyelet.

The dust ruffle has two layers one in the eyelet

and one in a white flowy organza.

the below photos are from carrie fay photography

It makes me very happy. I love sitting in there with her, praying for her and dreaming about her little life. .

happy 1/2 birthday

WOW! Half a year has gone by and Avery is 6 months old!
She is fantastic. Long and lean. She giggles, sits up, goes in circles, wrinkles her nose, explores, loves her brother, daddy and mommy. She eats well, sleeps great and adjusts to new surrounding easily.
She has won the hearts of her preschool teachers and has them wrapped around her little finger.
Her brother is her favorite entertainment. He can make her laugh and laugh and laugh some more! She also LOVES a baby minnie mouse we got her on our trip to Disneyland last winter.
We love her deeply and thank God daily for the blessing of our little butterfly.

daddy + daughter

daddy

loves his

daughter.

daughter

loves her

daddy.

a messy girl and her brother...

breakfast at the bailey's

a messy girl and her brother

Sweet Sweetie!

There are days when I feel Miss Avery doesn’t get enough blog time. She has reached a few exciting milestones lately; eating rice cereal, rolling over front to back and back to front and reaching for and playing with her toes. She loves standing in her exer-saucer and you can tell she dreams of the day when she can get rough and rowdy with her brother and his toys.

More importantly than hitting major milestones I wanted to take some time and simply share about Avery, who she is and who she is becoming.

When Avery first arrived in my arms the first thing that came to my mind is poet. I immediately felt like she was a deep thinker.

And while these descriptions of her still resonate with me she has also emerged into the happiest and bubbly little person. The best word that I can use to describe her and the word I hear other people using when they refer to her is sweet.

And she is. She is simply sweet.

She is meek, content and joyful.

I LOVE watching her eyes light up and her mouth create a smile when she sees faces.

I LOVE the sound of her sweet voice as she talks, coos and even whimpers.

I LOVE how she watches her brother. And the sweetness I already feel between them.

And my heart leaps when I see the sparkle in her eyes when she spots her daddy. Their one on one time is special to watch. I LOVE hearing her deep guttural laugh when he tickle her. And know their are many more incredible memories to come.

I LOVE when her two dimples pop out.

I LOVE staring into her eyes and seeing love in return.

I LOVE how she nestled into my arms and settles into a peaceful slumber.
I LOVE watching her smile in her sleep and know she is chatting with Jesus.

But, I also LOVE that no matter how sweet she is there is a hint of mischief in her eyes.
Every girl needs a hint of mischief.
I can't wait to discover more about this sweet little sweetie!

@ 4 months

Miss Avery Elizabeth is 4 months old. Time passes so fast when it comes to baby time. She is doing fabulous at pre-school and I have to admit that I am perfectly fine that teachers oogle and google over because she is so pretty. Her latest and greatest accomplishments are:
Moving and Grooving: She pushes off of anything and everything with her feet. She can scoot across the floor if we let her. The teachers have also seen her roll from her tummy to her back (I have yet to see this) and she works really hard at rolling from back to tummy.
Drooly Drooly: This last week she become a drool monster. I am guessing that means teeth are on their way. Renn's arrived around 6 months so I will be curious if they track together on this.
Laughter: She loves to laugh. Laugh at her brother, laugh at the worms on her play gym, play at mommy making funny faces, but the funniest thing she laughs at is her daddy. Specifically her daddy humming a Lady Gaga song (don't ask). Eric hums and she just busts out in hysterical laughs. I need to try to get it on video because I have seriously never heard a baby laugh like this. Just wishing it was a different song choice.
Playing: She is getting much more independently playful. Loves her play gym, exersaucer and enjoys reading books with her brother.
Sleeping: She continues to be an excellent sleeper. 10-12 hours at night and some days I have to wake her so we can make it to work on time.
Thumb Sucking: She is a thumb sucker. Despite my attempts to switch her thumb for a paci she spits the paci out and in goes her thumb. While I am glad my child can self soothe my fear comes for later. You can't take a thumb away like you can a paci. I realize this is not some great tragedy but just one of those minor worries that circles around in my head.
Bath time: She loves her bath time. Loves sitting in her bath tub, loves the water, hair being shampooed and giggles when I towel try her hair.

The sparkle in her eyes bring us such joy and I can't wait to continue to get to know her through the days, months and years. Thank you for blessing our lives little butterfly!

Sad face.

I have been worrying and regretting when this day would come. Avery's first sickness. Earlier in the week kids in her preschool room starting going down one by one with a throw-up bug. Yesterday, she was the only child left. I was praying and praying it would stay away. But, it arrived this morning. I am so sad for her and with all my heart just want to make it go away. Nothing stresses me out more than my child being sick.

12 Weeks

Miss Avery Elizabeth has turned 12 weeks old. First, I can't believe it has been 12 WEEKS! Second, we saw some exciting shifts in her this week. My personal favorite is that this week she actually enjoyed being in her car seat. This was a first and made my drive to and from work much more enjoyable. She has begun reaching and grabbing - specifically grabbing at her clothes and then bringing them to her mouth to chew on. SLEEP SLEEP and more SLEEP. She slept to or past 6am several times this week. Bringing her up to a whopping 10 hours straight. She is also enjoying her awake time much more - looking in the mirror, her mobile, sitting in a bumbo chair and reading. We had a moment that brought me to tears. I was sitting in the playroom, Renn sat in my lap and Avery sat in his lap as we all read Goodnight Moon. In the midst of reading I began to cry - it was simply just too precious of a moment. We have been reading Renn Goodnight Moon daily since he was a baby to the point in which he can now recite it with us - we are hoping to instill the same love for the book with Avery. It was also Avery's first full week of preschool and she is doing much better than her mama. The teachers are loving having an itty bitty baby, she is sleeping, enjoying the new toys and people she is experiencing.
It has been a beautiful 12 weeks and we look forward to plenty more ahead.